Stoves and furnaces – Stoves – Heating
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-28
2001-04-03
Yeung, James C. (Department: 3743)
Stoves and furnaces
Stoves
Heating
C126S060000, C126S073000, C126S077000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209535
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is related to a heating apparatus comprising a heating body, also called a combustion chamber, formed of an assembly of several walls, among which are a rear wall closing on the back the heating body, as well as two lateral walls, an upper wall and a lower wall. The combustion chamber also has at least one outlet for the flue gases and possibly a passage in which an air inlet is arranged.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A heating apparatus of this kind may be understood as meaning various apparatuses, such as a gas-burning apparatus, especially of the type with a flue or of the air-damper type, a liquid-fuel-burning apparatus, especially with evaporation under pressure or gasification at atmospheric pressure, a wood-burning apparatus and a solid-fuel-burning apparatus. This list is obviously not exhaustive. These apparatuses generally have a rear or back wall which may be made of cast iron, steel, refractory brick or some similar material, and which is attached to the rest of the heating body by means which are known per se. Any sound heating apparatus also requires an oxidizing-air inlet and a flue-gas outlet.
There are also known stoves which, through a change to the internal structure, can be used to burn various types of fuel (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,692 and FR-A-553427).
Finally, there is known a coal-burning heating apparatus, the rear wall of which is formed of three sections, the central section being removable and allowing easy access to, and therefore cleaning of, the flue ducts (see, for example, FR-A-709454).
All these heating apparatuses incidentally have variations in their shape and external appearance in order to meet criteria of fashion and the demands of the users. Indeed, as many of these apparatuses are intended to be situated in habitable rooms, a esthetic criteria come into play in their construction, and these criteria are changing ones.
There is therefore a need to satisfy these demands. However, the effect of this is that it leads to modifying not only the visible part of the heating body, but also at the same time parts of these appliances which are generally not visible, such as the rear wall. Now, the rear wall is fitted with important technical components such as the flue gas discharge, and sometimes a secondary-air inlet of a heat recuperator.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the rear wall and the “technical” equipment with which it is provided differ for all the types of heating apparatus, a nonexhaustive list of which was given above. There is obviously a problem with storing different components, mainly the walls and the equipment to be fitted on said walls, the cost of which is not insignificant.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main aim of the present invention is to suggest a heating apparatus which has a “universal” combustion chamber which can be adapted to any kind of combustible (liquid fuel, solid fuel, gas, coal or wood) and for which the external design will be adapted according to the user's choice.
A further aim of the present invention would be to suggest a “universal” combustion chamber which could be used for several powers of heating apparatus.
To achieve this, there is provided, according to the invention, a heating apparatus as described above, wherein all the walls forming the combustion chamber of the heating apparatus have standard predetermined dimensions so that such combustion chambers can be used for any model of heating apparatus, irrespective of its power or the fuel it uses.
Furthermore it will be possible, irrespective of the model of domestic stove used, to provide in the rear wall a standard opening that is suitable for all types of heating apparatus. An insert member, which allows for flue-gas discharge, various heat exchanges or draught regulation, is then fitted into the standard opening. The shape of the insert member will correspond to the heating apparatus to be fitted, whether it be of the wood-burning or coal-burning type, or alternatively some other type. Only the shape of this insert member, which is of a small size, will vary in order to accommodate said equipment.
This embodiment is applicable irrespective of the exterior cladding used for the heating apparatuses according to the invention. Such exterior cladding includes: enamelled or lacquered sheet, walls made of plastics, composites, enamelled or lacquered cast iron, ceramic, etc. whether or not the heating apparatuses can be built in, are configured in a tower or in any other shape, with or without a high-level, medium-level or low-level oven, is no longer of any significance.
To sum up, when fashions change, the manufacturer need merely modify the exterior envelope of the stove, while still using the same rear, lateral, upper, and lower walls, and the same opening for stoves of the same power. Thereafter, depending on the intended use of a stove, (that is to say, according to the fuel it is to burn,) an insert member and the corresponding equipment are fitted into the aforementioned opening. For example, at his factory, the manufacturer may thus provide, for all his oil-burning stoves of a given power, an insert member equipped with a heat recuperator which will always be the same, even if the exterior of the stove changes. This obviously results in a quite remarkable ease of storage and in a reduction in the costs of manufacturing, since the technically usable components of the stoves can be mass-produced.
Finally, the power of the heating apparatus can be modified by simply changing the burner, with the same combustion chamber as suggested above.
REFERENCES:
patent: 899254 (1908-06-01), McMorrow
patent: 4258692 (1981-03-01), Mackey
patent: 5119799 (1992-06-01), Cowan
patent: 553427 (1923-05-01), None
patent: 709454 (1931-08-01), None
patent: 950719 (1949-10-01), None
patent: 1151741 (1969-05-01), None
Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
Thermic Investments
Yeung James C.
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